From Steve Pelcman (Steven Pelcman) I learned a great deal many years ago – several decades ago, in fact – among other things this sentence: “Parents die and you become an adult.” He was 50 back then, and to me that seemed infinitely far away. Now I’ve passed 50 myself – and now I understand what he meant.
Steve is a writer, he works a lot with language, he has written a lot and has already left something behind – regardless of how much longer he lives on this earth. And I want to do something similar: build something, create something that is bigger than myself and that outlives me. That’s what drives me. And I believe many people feel the same way: deep down, in their subconscious, they want to be part of something bigger, but sadly many don’t know how. Maybe “1000 Thoughts” is exactly one way to do that – an outlet for fulfilling this wish and this longing.
One of my goals – or of our goals as a whole – is of course also that we deal honestly with death. Because it’s only death that makes life so precious and so valuable. Without death there would be no life, and life would be worth less. Death makes everything we experience unique; we can’t turn back time, and that’s a good thing. In the end, part of everything we do here is also a preparation for death – and that, too, flows into “1000 Thoughts”.
Napoleon Hill already addressed death when he talked about the “fears”, the basic human fears. Among other things, he described how death is a huge source of fear, above all in our Western society – but not in all other societies and belief frameworks. And I also believe that for a long time death and old age didn’t play a negative role. Only now, in the modern neoliberal society of the Global North, are we experiencing this massive “ageism” – this age discrimination. We see it, and I hear it every day when I interpret at the Jobcenter: that once you reach a certain age, you’re made to feel you no longer have any chance of living a fulfilled life in this society, a life in which you’re needed. That’s very sad – and that’s exactly one of the things we want to change with “1000 Thoughts”.
What do you take away from this thought?
Thank you. Every answer fits – take it with you into your day. Would you like to share something yourself?
